Again, no-one is off the hook on this. This blank space is everywhere - in non-profits and private enterprise too - not just government.

And you cannot rely on consultants or contractors to fill the gap. That means no skills transfer, no digital learning and (ultimately) no progress.

Nor can you rely on existing IT teams as a substitute. For all the excellent developers and technical people in IT, they are not enough.

Repeat after me.

Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT. Web is not IT...

Different needs. Different skills. Different tools.

It's simply not fair to ask a traditional IT team to plan, implement and manage design, content, analytics, accessibility, user engagement, etc. Let them focus on what they are good at (e.g. infrastructure, code) and hire dedicated new skills for new disciplines.